A/N: A multi-chaptered story from yours truly :) It deals w/ Andy's return from the taskforce, and how she and Sam attempt to fix their relationship.
This story is spoilerishy, as some parts are taken from the spoilers / pictures we've gotten from the cast / writers, while others are just what I would like / want to see happen in season four :)
I've written the story in present-tense, except for the flashbacks, which are in past-tense.
Hope you enjoy, and if you have any ideas for what to happen down the line, let me know, I'm open to suggestions ;)
Now, on to the story ...
[I]
Whoever said 'rules are here for a reason' is a damn moron according to Andy McNally. One of the many rules you have to follow according to her mom's self-help book is never to get bored, and to surround yourself with activities.
So, that's why on her first Saturday off in six months, Andy is spending it at the park playing basketball with Leo.
"Auntie Andy!" Leo exclaims upon seeing her standing on their doorstep wearing her sweats as well as holding a basketball under her arm.
"Hey there, Dude," she playfully ruffles his hair before he scurries further into the house – undoubtedly to fetch his bag. Andy closes the door behind her before following in Leo's footsteps.
"Am I to guess my best friend Andy's here?" Traci jokingly asks meeting up with Andy in the living room.
"Hey, Trace," Andy greets her friend before being pulled into a tight bear hug. "Wauw," she breathes at the strength of the hug.
"Don't go disappearing on me like that again, McNally," Traci chastises her.
"Okay," Andy acquiesces. It's not like she wanted to leave everyone and everything behind. She had wanted a fresh start; a clean slate so to speak. But driving away from Toronto with Luke and Nick had been heart wrenching. She had felt like she had been split right down the middle. The rational part of her; her head knew that it was for the best, and that focusing on her career was what she needed to do. The emotional part of her; her heart wanted to forget about the taskforce and instead meet up with Sam at The Penny and try again. But doing that, meant opening her heart up to him again – and could she do that? After having built up that proverbial wall around it? Besides, if he loved her, the way he said he did, he would wait for her. He would wait for them. But had he?
"Yes," Traci nods her head to Andy's musings. When she quirks a speculative eyebrow, Traci adds, "he has missed you too."
Sam.
"I'm telling you – you're making a mistake!" Candace O'Leary yelled at the tenacious rookie cop, who was towing her into booking.
Candace O'Leary's a petite brunette, who, considering her small body frame had the strength to fight Price on the entire trip from the squad and into booking. Her attitude had been nothing short of rude, her appearance was that of a crack addict; a ribbed pair of jeans, a white tank top and a raggedy hoody. Her hair looked dirty and she smelled like she'd spent the night on the floor of a public bathroom, which was probably why her T.O. had disappeared as soon as she could. Not that Chloe's complaining about that. She knew better than to badger the likes of Training Officer Marlo Cruz.
"Keep talking," rookie cop Chloe Price told her entering booking. "You were about to make a sale – I caught you," she added.
"Haven't you been to cop school, rookie?" Candace asked eyeing her with a raised eyebrow. "About to make a sale isn't enough," she continued. "My lawyer's gonna have a field day with this," she scoffed as Price began to empty her pockets onto a tray.
"Lawyer?" Price squawked. "You don't look or smell like you can even afford to take a bath once in the blue moon."
"Alright ladies – cool it!" the bulbous voice of Oliver Shaw interjected. "Officer Price what do you have?" he asked munching on his lunch, as he entered booking. He didn't look at the two women – completely consumed by his delicious BLT.
"Candace O'Leary, 30 years of age – caught while attempting to make a sale," Price informed him in police speech, as the woman of the hour took a cautionary look around the room. The handcuffs rattled, as she attempted to restore blood flow to her fingers.
Oliver dried his greasy fingers with a napkin before shucking it into the paper basket next to the desk. Once he finally looked up at the women before him, he was taken aback.
Why? Because Candace O'Leary was in fact Andy McNally.
The woman standing before him however didn't look like the McNally, who had left them all six months ago. Gone was the radiant smile, piercing brown eyes and immaculate aura that always seemed to have surrounded her.
But even so, it was her.
Oliver was beyond thrilled to see her; but he could only imagine the thunder that would undoubtedly roll through 15 Division when a certain someone found out that she was back.
Speaking of Sam – where the hell was he?
"Finally!" Traci Nash exclaimed shutting her computer off, elated that her and Sam had finished off their most challenging case to date.
"Coffee?" Sam asked standing next to her desk holding out a mug of coffee to her.
Traci looked up at him gratefully before accepting the mug of brown liquid from him. "Thanks."
"You did good, Nash," he complimented her perching on the edge of her desk.
"Thanks, you too, Swarek," Traci complimented him right back. She might be the detective in training, but Sam wasn't exactly a seasoned Detective. They were both still learning the ropes of this job, and it was actually comforting for Traci that they were both still getting their feet wet. True, Sam had the benefits of having been on the streets for years and doubled together with her emotional ability to read and dig into the human depths of their victims, witnesses and suspects – they were the perfect team.
"Thank you," he told her. "How's the little guy doing?" Sam asked eying the picture on her desk, that for the past six months had driven a proverbial knife through his heart every time he'd looked at it, which had pretty much been every, single damn day of the week.
There were three people in the picture. All three were wearing baseball caps – Leo was wearing a big smile, while the two women on each side of him were wearing plastered-on smiles on their faces. Which made sense since the picture was taken no more than three weeks after Jerry's death and therefore his and Andy's breakup. Still, every time he looked at her face looking back at him, it was like someone stomping on his heart.
Dragging his gaze away from the picture, he noticed that Traci was looking at him with a question in her deep brown eyes, and for the first time he noticed the woman standing by the entrance to their office; Marlo Cruz.
Sam realized that he'd probably been zoned out for a while, and by the looks on both Traci and Marlo's faces they'd probably been calling his name for a while. "What's up?" he asked clearing his throat, as Marlo moved further into the room.
"I need a moment," she told Sam, indicating that it was for his ears only.
"Is it about work?" he asked standing up from the desk.
He and Marlo had back in their academy days been involved - romantically. It hadn't worked out for reasons that he didn't feel like dissecting right now. But even now, years later, he had the inkling that she wanted them to try again. The only problem with that particular scenario? He wasn't interested. The truth of the matter was that for four years now there was only one woman he'd been interested in, and despite the current state of their relationship, that was still the case.
"Yes." Marlo answered moving her eyes from Sam to Traci and then back again. Clearly she wanted some privacy, but if it was work related there was no reason why Nash couldn't hear it too. That, and then the fact that he was in no mood to be playing games right now.
"In that case, you can tell both of us. Nash and I are partners, and anything work related will eventually make its way to her ears as well." Sam told Marlo, shooting her request down making her avert her eyes from his. "Spit it out," Sam urged her on.
But what came out of her mouth next, stifled him.
"Who are you riding with today?" Oliver asked Price pulling Andy from her reverie.
"Cruz," she offered up taken aback by Shaw's harsh attitude. Being Frank Best' Goddaughter hadn't exactly earned her any points with the T.O.'s. Oliver was the only T.O. who had seen her for her, and not as some helpless girl, who supposedly couldn't get into the job without having a connection with one of the higher ups at 15 Division. Which was also why his attitude shocked her - had she done something wrong?
"Where is she?" Oliver demanded to know. Marlo Cruz had been at 15 Division for a couple of months now. An old academy friend of his and Sam's, who was also a no-nonsense type of a cop.
"Said she had something to discuss with Detective Swarek." Price answered biting her lower lip in apprehension.
'Detective Swarek?' Andy thought to herself – when the hell did that happen?
"So, she just left you alone to deal with this?" Oliver stated incredulously, indicating Andy with his flailing hands.
"It's no trouble, Sir," Chloe interjected not wanting to get her T.O. into trouble. There was something about Cruz that scared her on one level, yet implored her to work harder on another.
"I don't mind," Andy snottily remarked making Oliver roll his eyes.
"Did you read her rights to her?" he asked Price, who got a 'deer caught in the headlights' look on her pale face.
"Err…" Price stammered and Andy immediately felt bad for her. It hadn't been that long ago she herself had been a rookie – forgetting to turn her radio on and running a certain undercover cop down in a back alley.
"Let's go!" Oliver suddenly exclaimed grabbing Andy's handcuffed hands leading her out of booking with a protesting Chloe behind him. "Not a single word," he warned Andy, as they walked further into the Division.
"Wouldn't dream of it, Officer," she muttered smiling secretly to herself. She had missed Oliver; he'd always been one of her favorites. He was so life-like. So filled with faults, but dedicated to his family and the job.
When they entered one of the interrogation rooms, and Oliver shut the door closed – he immediately unlocked the cuffs before turning Andy around.
"Christ, McNally!" he exclaimed placing his hands on her shoulders giving her a thorough once-over with his piercing blue eyes.
"I'm fine, Oliver, really," Andy tried to placate his obvious worry. Oliver had always been the one T.O., who'd taken each rookie on personally and helped them out – much like a father figure, really.
"That makes one of us, because when Sam finds out," Oliver whistled rolling his eyes to high heaven indicating that all hell would break lose when that happened.
'If he finds out', Andy thought to herself.
"Wait here. Stay," Oliver told her, as if talking to a dog. Andy rolled her eyes at the sentiment as he left the room.
FUCK! This was not supposed to happen! Why had that rookie even been in that alley? And why had that Cruz person looked at her like that? Andy sure as hell didn't know her.
How about Detective Swarek – when had that happened and why? As an homage to Jerry? To try and forget about her? Ever since Andy had known him – Sam had had nothing but disdain for detectives – except for Jerry of course – or maybe that disdain for detectives had merely been directed at Luke?
Luke – crap! Not to mention Nick – double crap!
"I already know!" Sam snapped when Oliver met him right outside the interrogation room. "I'm going in there," Sam told him, but his best friend and colleague didn't budge an inch.
"No, you're not!" Oliver maintained. No way was he letting him burst in, guns blazing and deteriorating Andy from the work she still had to do.
"Shaw, I haven't seen her for six months," Sam said.
"None of us have," Traci chimed in when she and Marlo joined them outside the interrogation room.
"How do you guys even know?" Oliver asked. Sam and Traci both pointed at Marlo causing Oliver to raise a questioning eyebrow at the woman in question.
"I noticed the photograph on Traci's desk a couple of days ago, and then I recognized her after Price had gotten her into the squad car," she tried to explain.
"And you of course rushed in to tell him?" Oliver asked sarcastically pointing a fixed finger at Sam. He knew that Sam and Marlo had picked up their friendship where they'd left it after the academy. They had always been better friends than lovers, but according to what little Sam had told him about their relationship it had taken a lot of heartache on Marlo's part to come to that realization. Their relationship had been more on her terms than Sam's, but they were now in a place where they could joke and flirt with each other without there being a weird vibe between them.
"I'm going in there!" Sam exclaimed pointing his finger at the door leading into the interrogation room. "I don't care what you say, Shaw," he maintained, his frustration tangible.
"Then maybe you'll listen to me!" Frank exclaimed joining their conversation. "No one enters that room unless they're wearing this shirt," he told them fingering his white shirt, while fixing Sam with a determined gaze.
"Frank?" Oliver asked needing answers to his many questions.
"It's an order from up top," he offered up.
"This is crap!" Sam gruffly told his Staff Sergeant, sighing heavenly before walking into a room to sit down abruptly on a chair. He cradled his head in his hands, while Traci and Marlo looked on.
"Keep an eye on him, Cruz," Frank told her in a tone of voice that gave her no option but to comply.
"Yes, Sir," Marlo told him with a nod of the head before he walked into the interrogation room
"So, their operation is close to being finished?" Traci asked no one in particular.
Her question remained unanswered.
"So, how do I do this Auntie Andy?" the ever tenacious Leo asks her an hour later when they are standing on a basketball court in the inner part of Toronto – roughly a five minute walk from Sam's. Which isn't why she chose this particular court – it is one of the best courts in town plus there are hardly ever anyone playing this early on a Saturday morning.
Besides that then this particular court holds fond memories for Andy, memories she's tried to eradicate for the past six or seven months.
"Come on, McNally!" Sam had growled at her, as she was dribbling the ball in front of him, and he tried to cover her. She had literally been kicking his ass all morning at basketball.
His usual opponent; namely Jerry sucked almost as bad at this sport as he did, but only almost. But then McNally was a lot prettier to look at. She was wearing a pair of kaki sweat pants doubled with a white tank top and her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head with ringlets cascading down her sweaty face.
She was a vision to behold; panting hard and licking her upper lip coated in sweat contemplating her next move.
"Had enough, Swarek?" she teased him, as she feinted a move to the right before going to the left and making a bank shot.
"Now I have," Sam groaned bending forward to catch his breath, resting his hands on his legs.
"You don't say?" Andy giggled walking towards him, ecstatic over the fact that there was one thing she was better at than Sam Swarek – basketball.
"I do say," he replied yanking her hard against his rigid and sweaty body, Andy felt every single muscle in her lower body clench at the realization of what would undoubtedly come next.
"Now what, Swarek?" Andy asked giving him a small peck on the lips, brown eyes connecting.
"Shower time, McNally, shower time," Sam winked at her as they forgot all about the game they were supposed to be playing, and began to play a new one – undoubtedly still involving sweat, panting and well, them.
"Come over here, Dude," Andy waves him over and proceeds to show him how to make a 3-pointer. "Now you try," she urges him on.
He checks his feet to see if he's standing in the right spot, and when Andy nods her head encouragingly, he does a small jump before tossing the ball.
"I did it!" Leo beams with his big brown eyes.
"Awesome!" Andy grins at him.
Without Andy's knowledge, someone has been watching her and Leo. That someone catches Leo's eye, and he lights up from within.
"Uncle Sammy!" he happily exclaims upon finding Sam standing a few yards away, his hands perched on his hips and a careful smile hovering on his lips.
"Hey there, Buddy – looking good," Sam tells Leo, blatantly ignoring Andy, as he walks towards them.
"Thanks," he beams soaking up the praise from his Uncle Sammy. In the time Andy has been absent from both of their lives, Sam has become an integral part of Leo and Traci's lives. Many months prior – even before she left for the taskforce he had made a promise to Jerry, sitting in front of his tombstone at the cemetery.
"I will look after them for you, Jerry. You said I always had your back, well now I'm proving it to you. I will look after your family for you, brother."
With that solemn vow, he had taken on a new path for himself. A path that he at the time had hoped could've paved a new road for him and Andy. But then she had left, and he'd been left behind, again. But instead of burying himself in a deep, dark hole he had kept his promise and looked after Traci and Leo, while simultaneously studying to become a Detective. That way he could also keep an eye on Nash for his best friend.
'So, now he's not even talking to me,' Andy muses to herself when Sam is still refusing to acknowledge her presence.
But maybe that is exactly what she deserves? She did leave him behind, but it hadn't been an easy decision to make. Right now, despite everything she's learned on the taskforce, she wishes she'd stayed six months ago, and had made it to The Penny. But she hadn't and that's precisely where the problem lies.
"Auntie Andy is a great teacher," Leo smiles big looking up at his coach gratefully.
"I can see that," Sam says, and finally his eyes rise to meet hers, and if she doesn't know any better, she'd swear that it's a smile she sees hovering on his lips – directed at her.
"I'm gonna go practice some more," Leo suddenly declares running to the basket hoop on the opposite side of the court, leaving Sam and Andy alone.
The tension in the silence between them is pivotal and tangible. Neither of them will look the other in the eye or start the line of communication first.
"He seems better," Andy says looking in Leo's direction. She knows it's a cop out, but she's in unchartered territory here.
"He is," Sam confirms with a firm nod of the head. "But then again – a lot can happen in six months." It's a verbal blow to the gut and it hits Andy good and hard.
"So," she starts after having seemingly recovered. "How have you been?" she asks shifting on her feet.
"Ah, just great, McNally!" he retorts angrily before adding, "never been better. That is when I finally figured out you'd given up on us," his tone of voice is harsh and drives straight to the point.
"I never…" Andy begins, but Sam holds his hand up to stop her. The look she finds staring back at her breaks her heart into tiny little pieces all over again. It may not be raining, and they may not be standing in a parking lot behind The Penny, but seven or so months later, the feeling's exactly the same.
"I'll see you around," he tells her before saying goodbye to Leo, and just like that he walks away as if he had never been there in the first place.
"Are you okay, Auntie Andy?" Leo asks her sensing that something is off.
"Yeah," Andy whispers, as she watches Sam disappear from her view. "I'm fine," putting on a brave face she looks down at Leo.
"Can we practice some more?" he asks her optimistically. Andy nods her head as they begin practicing again.
Andy is lying in her bed trying to beckon sleep to come to her. In the short amount of time she's been back in her condo, it still feels strangely unfamiliar. She feels cold, alone and utterly lost – feelings she's grown accustomed to for the past seven months. Andy clutches a pillow to her chest, tears cascading down her cheeks as she comes to a very chilling realization.
"You don't have to do anything, I'm gonna do it all."
"I'm gonna show you, every single day, until you say yes."
"I'm gonna cook you dinner, I'm gonna take out your garbage, I'm gonna walk your dog."
"Boo Radley; I've always loved that for a dog."
She's lost him.
